Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6481060
-
Patent Number
6,481,060
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, June 12, 200123 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, November 19, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
-
Examiners
- Sandy; Robert J.
- Jackson; André L.
Agents
- Pro-Techtor International Services
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 024 312
- 024 31
- 024 DIG 28
- 024 DIG 8
- 024 DIG 29
- 024 541
- 024 546
- 024 326
- 224 666
- 224 249
- 224 269
- 002 1951
- 002 1954
- 002 10
- 002 20912
- 002 20913
- 002 20914
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International Classifications
-
Abstract
A multi-purpose cap clip, comprising a clip unit, a holding device, and an accessory object. The clip unit has a fixing plate and two clasping plates to two sides of the fixing plate, with the fixing plate and the two clasping plates clasping a brim of a cap. The accessory object has a holding element which fits on the holding device and is held thereby. After assembly of the structural parts, the clip unit fastens the accessory object on the brim of the cap.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multi-purpose cap clip, particularly to a multi-purpose cap clip for fastening an accessory object to a cap worn by a person.
2. Description of Related Art
Caps are often used clothing articles worn outdoors to provide protection against the sun. For other functions, accessory objects supplement caps, e.g. sunglasses for protecting the eyes against the sun. At events, for propaganda purposes, caps are distributed to participants, carrying certain imprinted patterns or small flags or other decorative objects to be well seen.
These examples for accessory objects on caps mostly require using dedicated special caps with the accessory objects fixed thereon, which must be especially made. On the other hand, some supplementary objects on caps have fixing elements to be fastened to caps. But then caps and supplementary objects are fixed together, allowing only for a single function. For various functions, various caps have to be prepared, which is inconvenient.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is the main object of the present invention to provide a multi-purpose cap clip which allows to put various accessory objects on a brim of a cap.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a multi-purpose cap clip which has a simple structure and is inexpensive.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a multi-purpose cap clip which fits on a cap that is commonly available on the market, so that the Cap accommodates various accessory objects without modification.
The present invention can be more fully understood by reference to the following description and accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a perspective view of the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention in the first embodiment.
FIGS. 1A-1C
are perspective views of variations of the fixing element of the present invention in the first embodiment.
FIGS. 2A-2C
are perspective views of various accessory objects held by the present invention in the first embodiment.
FIGS. 3A-3D
are schematic illustrations of the present invention in the first embodiment used in conjunction with various accessory objects.
FIG. 4
is a perspective view of the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention in the second embodiment.
FIG. 5
is a perspective view of the present invention in the second embodiment, with an accessory object mounted thereon.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As shown in
FIG. 1
, ,the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention in a first embodiment has a clip unit
10
to be fastened to a brim
21
of a cap
20
, as shown in
FIGS. 3A-3D
. The clip unit
10
comprises: a base plate
11
, which is a rectangular plate; a fixing plate
12
, extending away from the base plate
11
from a middle part thereof in a rearward direction; and two clasping plates
13
, extending rearward from two ends of the base plate.
11
. The fixing plate
12
, the base plate
11
and the two clasping plates
13
lie in a common plane or in different planes. As shown in
FIGS. 3A-3D
, the fixing plate
12
and the two clasping plates
13
of the clip unit
10
clasp upper and lower sides of the brim
21
of the cap
20
. Since the fixing plate
12
and the two clasping plates
13
are elastic, the clip unit
10
is held tight on the brim
21
. The present invention further has a holding device
15
for fastening an accessory object
30
on the. clip unit
10
.
Referring again to
FIG. 1
, for keeping the clip unit
10
on the brim
21
with an increased holding force, the two clasping plates
13
have several teeth
14
on a surface thereof that contacts the brim
21
. Thus holding friction between the two clasping plates
13
and the brim
21
is increased.
Referring to
FIGS. 2A
to
2
C, the present invention is able to hold various accessory objects
30
. As shown in
FIG. 2A
, the accessory object
30
is a flag with a lower end which is attached to a holding base
31
. The holding base
31
is held by the holding device
15
of the clip unit
10
. As shown in
FIG. 1
, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the holding unit
15
comprises two curved elastic plates
16
, attached to the fixing plate
12
on an upper side thereof. A gap is left between the two elastic plates
16
and the fixing plate
12
, forming the holding device
15
and allowing to insert the holding base
31
. The holding base
31
of the accessory object
30
is formed like the inverted letter T and is easily inserted into the holding device
15
, so that the accessory object
30
is mounted on the clip unit
10
.
FIGS. 2B and 2C
show further variations of accessory objects. As shown in
FIG. 2B
, an accessory object
30
A is used which is a toy wind wheel
31
A set on a holding base
32
A. As shown in
FIG. 2B
, an accessory object
30
B is used which is a pair of sunglasses
31
B, to which a central holding element
32
B is attached.
FIGS. 3A-3D
show various ways of mounting the accessory object
30
on the clip unit
10
. Depending on the kind of accessory object used, the holding device
15
is placed on the upper side or the lower side of the brim
21
, then the accessory object is put on the holding device
15
. As shown in
FIGS. 3A and 3B
, with the accessory object
30
,
30
A being a flag and a toy wind wheel, respectively, the holding device
15
is placed on the upper side of the brim
21
. On the other hand, as shown in
FIGS. 3C and 3D
, with the accessory object
30
B being a pair of sunglasses, the holding device
15
is placed on the lower side of the brim
21
. Then the holding element
32
B is inserted into the holding device
15
, allowing to adjust a tilting angle of the sunglasses
31
B.
Referring to
FIGS. 1A-1C
, the holding device
15
has several variations. Therein, as shown in
FIG. 1A
, a holding device
15
A is used which is a single curved elastic plate
16
A, attached to a fixing plate
12
A at a central position thereof. Alternatively, as shown in
FIG. 1A
, a holding device
15
B is used which is a single curved elastic plate
16
A, attached to a fixing plate
12
B at an asymmetric lateral position thereof. Finally, as shown in
FIG. 1C
, a holding device
15
C is used which is a circular hole in a fixing plate
12
C.
The present invention allows a user to mount any of various accessory objects on the cap
20
, serving multiple purposes. The same cap carries a flag, sunglasses or another object without any need of modification.
Referring now to
FIGS. 4 and 5
, the present invention in a second embodiment comprises a clip unit
40
, a pair of sunglasses
50
; and a movable seat
60
. The clip unit
40
further comprises: a base plate
41
, which is a rectangular plate; a fixing plate
42
, extending away from the base plate
41
from a middle part thereof in a rearward direction; two clasping plates
43
, extending rearward from two ends of the base plate
41
and, together with the fixing plate
42
, clasping the brim
21
of the cap
20
. The movable seat
60
is mounted on the fixing plate
42
and movable thereon, carrying the sunglasses
50
, allowing to position the sunglasses
50
on the fixing plate
42
.
The fixing plate has a central opening
45
, taking in the movable seat
60
. As shown in
FIGS. 4 and 5
, the movable seat
60
has a main body
61
with a lower side which carries an elastic hook
62
. When the movable seat is mounted on the fixing plate
42
, the elastic hook
62
reaches through the opening
45
to a location below the fixing plate
42
. The sunglasses
50
, at a top edge thereof in a central position, have a holding rod
51
. The holding rod
51
is inserted in the elastic hook
62
, so that the sunglasses
50
are held on the fixing plate
42
.
For adjusting a tilting angle of the sunglasses
50
, the main body
61
of the movable seat
60
on two ends thereof has positioning projections
64
, and the two ends of the holding rod
51
each carry a cog
52
. The positioning projections
64
Sand the cogs
52
engage, holding the sunglasses
50
at a fixed tilting angle.
The present invention in the second embodiment serves to hold a pair of sunglasses on a cap. The main characteristic thereof is that the sunglasses
50
have an adjustable distance from the eyes of a user, adjusted by moving the movable seat
60
on the fixing plate
42
. With the positioning projections
64
and the cogs
52
mutually engaging in various positions, the tilting angle of the sunglasses
50
is conveniently adjusted.
As the above explanation shows, the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention has a simple structure and is inexpensive, allowing to mount any kind of accessory objects on a cap with a brim at low cost and in an economical way. The present invention is combinable with various accessory objects. Any manufacturer producing accessory objects for caps only needs to provide a holding element on each accessory object that fits into the holding device
15
of the clip unit
10
, so as to connect the accessory object with the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention. Thus caps serve multiple additional functions. Furthermore, the multi-purpose cap clip of the present invention is suitable for all caps without any need of modifications. Therefore, a manufacturer of accessory objects does not need to produce further, specialized caps.
While the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that modifications or variations may be easily made without departing from the spirit of this invention which is defined by the appended claims.
Claims
- 1. A multi-purpose cap clip, comprising:a clip unit having a fixing plate and two clasping plates extending from and generally perpendicular to a base plate, said clasping plates being positioned at sides of said fixing plate, such that said fixing plate and said clasping plates form a clasping mechanism to secure said clip unit at three contact areas to a brim of a cap, said fixing plate being positioned on a first side of a distal end of said brim of said cap, and said clasping plates being positioned on a second side of said distal end of said brim of said cap; a holding device; and an accessory object having a holding element which engages said holding device and is secured in place thereby; wherein after assembly, said clip unit fastens said accessory object to said distal end of said brim of said cap.
- 2. A multi-purpose cap clip according to claim 1, wherein:at least one of said fixing plate and said two clasping plates of said clip unit comprise a plurality of teeth on a surface that contacts said brim of said cap to increase holding friction.
- 3. A multi-purpose cap clip according to claim 1, wherein:said accessory object is a pair of sunglasses, and said holding device is mounted on a movable seat, said movable seat being movably mounted on said fixing plate, so that said pair of sunglasses is movable along said clip unit.
- 4. A multi-purpose cap clip according to claim 3, wherein:at least one cog is attached to said pair of sunglasses and said movable seat has at least one projection that engages said at least one cog, providing a means to fix an angle of said pair of sunglasses. relative to said brim of said cap.
US Referenced Citations (24)